June 28, 2011
Progress Energy wants to spend $900 million to $1.3 billion to repair its troubled nuclear plant in Crystal River rather than permanently shut it down.
January 24, 2011
When President Obama uses his State of the Union address on Tuesday to rally America to “outbuild” other nations, he will face an unusual challenge: getting Republicans to embrace public works projects again as the kind of worthy bacon they have traditionally fought to bring home, and not as wasteful pork that should be spurned.
January 24, 2011
Washington (CNN) -- As President Obama is set to take stock of the nation during his State of the Union address Tuesday, a civil engineers group gives the U.S. transportation system low grades.
December 15, 2010
TALLAHASSEE - As Florida puts the brakes on its high speed rail plan, corporations from around the world are eagerly pressing for bragging rights as builders of the first such line in the United States.
December 13, 2010
Rep. Rich Glorioso, a former U.S. Air Force pilot who oversaw transportation spending the last two years in the House, is one of 28 initial applicants seeking to become the next secretary of the Department of Transportation.
December 12, 2010
The average price of gas hasn't reached $3 a gallon this year in Jacksonville.
But if a proposal by a bipartisan deficit commission in Washington is adopted, the price will go up by 15 cents a gallon throughout the country, likely bringing the cost past $3 a gallon across Sunshine State.
December 9, 2010
U.S. Rep. Corrinne Brown, D-Fla., announced today that Florida had been awarded $342 million from the federal government for high speed rail between Orlando and Tampa.
The federal government had previously given the state $2 billion. It's estimated that it will cost $2.5 billion to build the high speed rail line, said Nick Martinelli, legislative director for Brown.
November 16, 2010
Florida's university system awarded $10 million in grants Monday to boost research and innovation, with nearly a quarter of the money going to the University of Florida.
The University of South Florida will receive nine grants totaling $1.48 million, the second most in the state.
November 7, 2010
Major companies from all over the world will be in town this week to figure out what it will take to build a $2.6 billion high-speed train linking Orlando with Tampa.
The firms plan to meet Tuesday and Wednesday with officials from the Florida Department of Transportation, which is in charge of building the project. The plan is for a train capable of going 168 mph that can get from Orlando International Airport to downtown Tampa in 44 minutes.
Among the topics of discussion will be what type of expertise the FDOT is looking for, how much money the bidders will have to spend and what is the best way to get the train operating by 2015.
November 4, 2010
Hillsborough voters' resounding rejection of a sales tax for light rail has forced Pinellas officials to rethink their strategy for bringing trains here.
Supporters in Pinellas hoped to use the passage of a 1-cent sales tax in Hillsborough as a springboard for a similar measure as early as next year. Instead, 58 percent of Hillsborough voters rejected it.
November 1, 2010
A train linking downtown Tampa to the airport and to the USF area and beyond has long been the focus of the debate over the transportation referendum, which leaves suburban voters feeling shortchanged.
But approval of an extra one-cent-per-dollar sales tax is also needed for major improvements in bus service, roads and sidewalks in any areas that won't soon enjoy rail service.
October 26, 2010
TAMPA - The high-speed rail line slated to run between Tampa and Orlando received an additional $800 million Monday.
October 21, 2010
NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey's governor wants to kill a $9 billion-plus train tunnel to New York City because of runaway costs. Six thousand miles away, Hawaii's outgoing governor is having second thoughts about a proposed $5.5 billion rail line in Honolulu.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday lobbied for Republican support from Capitol Hill for a burst of spending on transportation projects, calling his proposal a jobs creator for the middle class and an overdue investment in the country's foundation.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Dan Holback picked up as many signs as he could carry, including several that were nearly as tall as he.
"This would great in our lobby," he said of the sign with a big thumbs down and a "Vote No on 4."
It's the biggest election story in Florida that you haven't seen.
This would be Amendment 4, usually known as Florida Hometown Democracy. If you think that Bill McCollum and Rick Scott ran some nasty ads, those may look like Saturday morning cartoons compared with the savaging that awaits Hometown Democracy, given the stakes for the groups determined to kill it.
TAMPA - You'll no longer be able to hand your cash to a toll taker or use exact change when traveling on the Selmon Expressway. Starting at 9:30 tonight, motorists on the 15-mile highway stretching from South Tampa to Brandon will have to use a SunPass or receive a bill for their tolls.
Once upon a time, Republicans hated President Obama's stimulus package because it wasn't pouring enough money into infrastructure. Last July, in front of a giant road sign covered in red tape, GOP congressmen complained that only 1% of the package's $48 billion for transportation had been spent. "As funds sit idle, so do workers," said John Mica of Florida, the top Republican on the House transportation committee. Jean Schmidt of Ohio hoisted a bright orange worker's vest for the cameras: "I want to see this all over the highways!" Back then, even House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio was calling for "shovel-ready projects that will create much-needed jobs."
WASHINGTON - Traffic deaths have plummeted across the United States to levels not seen in more than a half-century, spurred by technology, safety-conscious drivers and tougher enforcement of drunken driving laws.
TAMPA - The new Tampa International Airport exit didn't cause any major problems for commuters Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Florida Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Amendment 4, also known as "Referenda Required For Adoption And Amendment of Local Government Comprehensive Land Use Plans," is on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment to the Florida Constitution. The initiative proposes to require a taxpayer-funded referendum for all changes to local government comprehensive land-use plans
September 7, 2010
MILWAUKEE - President Barack Obama, looking to stimulate a sluggish economy and create jobs, called Monday for Congress to approve major upgrades to the nation's roads, rail lines and runways - part of a six-year plan that would cost tens of billions of dollars and create a government-run bank to finance innovative transportation projects.
August 3, 2010
TAMPA - A British company plans to buy Tampa-based engineering company PBSJ Corp. in a transaction worth $280 million.
On Monday, PSBJ announced it would be acquired by WS Atkins plc for about $17.14 per stock share. PBSJ will become a U.S. subsidiary of Atkins under the direction of PBSJ Chief Executive Officer Robert Paulsen.
July 30, 2010
TAMPA - After hearing from transportation officials Thursday, the City Council backed off an effort to get money for a high-speed rail stop at Tampa International Airport.
July 15, 2010
NEW TAMPA - Opponents of a proposed bridge across Interstate 75 to connect Tampa Palms and West Meadows are seeking financial support to keep the challenge going.
July 15, 2010
NEW TAMPA - Opponents of a proposed bridge across Interstate 75 to connect Tampa Palms and West Meadows are seeking financial support to keep the challenge going.
July 1, 2010
Floridians wince at the seemingly endless sprawl of development in the Sunshine State. But regional planner and University of Pennsylvania professor Jonathan Barnett thinks Florida is well ahead of most states in smart regional planning.
June 2, 2010
TAMPA - Tampa International Airport officials will unveil the flymetampabay.com website Thursday morning that will become part of an information gathering project to build a plan to enhance international and domestic flight service.
June 1, 2010
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio stood to the side, hands clasped beneath her chin, watching as Hillsborough commissioners voted last month to put a sales tax referendum on the November ballot to help pay for light rail.
January 6, 2010
Plans to demolish the Pier in downtown St. Petersburg and replace the waterfront landmark with a new structure much closer to the shore inched closer to reality on Tuesday.
January 14, 2010
PLANT CITY - It could be days before all eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 near Plant City are open again, authorities said this morning.
January 12, 2010
WASHINGTON - A federal spending surge of more than $20 billion for roads and bridges in President Barack Obama's first stimulus has had no effect on local unemployment rates, raising questions about his argument for billions more to address an "urgent need to accelerate job growth."
January 13, 2010
(ASCE President Blaine Leonard's response to the above AP article)
I've been surprised at how readily people have accepted as fact the conclusions offered in a recent Associated Press news article that claims that the transportation funding in the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) failed to have an impact on unemployment. The authors seemed to have relied on information that many have pointed out is, at best, incomplete.
December 31, 2009
NORFOLK, VA - Four Hampton Roads Transit board members from three cities have asked President and CEO Michael Townes to resign or face possible dismissal over spiraling cost overruns to build Norfolk's light-rail starter line.
July 7, 2009
TAMPA - This week marks a major milestone in Florida's quest for high-speed rail.
State transportation officials will submit their first application for billions in federal stimulus money to help pay for a rail line connecting Tampa and Orlando.